Ethanol has been shown to aggravate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction in cerebral trauma and in cerebral gas embolism, possibly by changing the endothelial cell membrane. No difference in protein extravasation was found between intoxicated and control rats under nitrous oxide anesthesia after the injection of bicuculline, a drug that hemodynamically gives rise to high blood pressure in combination with cerebral vasodilatation. In contrast there was a statistically significant increase in protein leakage in conscious intoxicated rats. The fact that ethanol increased the vulnerability only in conscious rats might indicate that nitrous oxide and ethanol have a common effect on the endothelial cell membranes or that nitrous oxide neutralizes an action of ethanol. Protein leakage induced by acute hypertension is more severe in rats anesthetized with nitrous oxide than in conscious rats, a difference that might to some extent be related to an effect of nitrous oxide on the endothelial cells. Further studies are needed to evaluate the influence of ethanol and nitrous oxide on the endothelial cell membrane.